CCAC seeks nominations for SLCP-reduction awards

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition recognizes efforts to cut short-lived climate pollutants, including HFCs.

2017 Climate and Clean Air Award Winners, including State Senator for California Ricardo Lara on the far right.

Credit: CCAC

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is accepting nominations for the 2018 Climate & Clean Air Awards, which recognise “exceptional contributions and actions taken by individuals or groups to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).”

The deadline for entering nominations is 4 June 2018.

SLCP gases are “super pollutants,” like HFCs, that stay in the atmosphere for a shorter time than CO2 yet have a much larger global warming potential (GWP), while (in the case of black carbon) negatively impacting public health with fine particle pollution.

The awards will be evaluated by the following criteria:

Actions that reduce SLCPs indirectly or directly.

Innovation that reduces SLCPs by using technology, processes or policies.

Sharing or scaling up activities that reduce SLCPs like more investment.

Last year the award for “Outstanding Policy” went to California, which has developed an ambitious policy that targets HFCs and other short-lived climate pollutants.

Greenhouse gases such as HFCs, methane. and black carbon all fall under the remit of the Californian SLCP Strategy, which is a crucial part of California’s broader framework for reducing all greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

The SLCP plan aims to reduce HFCs used in HVAC&R, insulation and propellants by 25% below business-as-usual emissions by 2020, and by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. In this respect, the strategy represents an opportunity to increase uptake of natural refrigerant-based HVAC&R systems as a replacement for HFC equipment.

California Governor Edmund Brown Jr, and California State Senator Ricardo Lara, who introduced a bill aimed at providing incentives for low-GWP refrigerants, both accepted the award on California’s behalf.